Dr. James MacDonald 332 Mimring Columbus, Ohio 43202 Phone/Fax 614 447-0768 macdonaldj86@gmail.com

Communicating Partners

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Child Goals

The Social Dimension

  1. Interactive Life: To what degree does the child socially interact with people?
    • Mixes well with people.
    • Seeks others' attention.
    • Responds to others.
    • Intiates contact with others.
    • Stays voluntarily in interactions.
    • Prefers interacting with people.
    • Notices others' presence.
    • Prefers people over things.
    • Shows acute awareness of others.
  2. Imitative Life: To what degree does the child follow others' behavior models?>
    • Imitates people immediately.
    • Imitates people at a later time.
    • Learns from watching others.
    • Imitates with meaning.
    • Imitates occasionally but appropriately.
  3. Turntaking Life: To what degree does the child give and take with others and act reciprocally, back-and-forth?
    • Plays interactive role, taking turns regularly.
    • Allows partner to take turns.
    • Waits for others to interact.
    • Stays taking turns back-and-forth.

The Sensory Motor/ Play Dimension

  1. Play Life with Things: To what degree does child play with things and people meaningfully?
    • Plays with things in meaningful ways.
    • Plays with different actions, changing regularly.
    • Plays with clear and different purposes.
    • Plays with things in appropriate ways.
    • Plays with things as well as people.
    • Plays with people without toys.
    • Plays in changing, creative ways.
  2. Play Life with People: To what degree does the child play meaningfully with people?
    • Plays with others as well as by himself.
    • Plays pretend with people.
    • Plays in changing, creative ways with people. (not only in repetitive, routine ways)
    • Plays with people by themselves without things.
    • Plays mainly for enjoyment. (not just to get a task done)
  3. Sensory and Movement Life: To what degree does a child sense and move in adaptive ways?
    • Responds to sounds appropriately.
    • Responds to touch appropriately.
    • Responds to visual stimulation appropriately.
    • Adapts to changes easily.
    • Shows appropriate reactions to strong stimulation.
    • Moves in appropriate ways. (not in nonfunctional movements)
    • Acts in socially acceptable ways.
    • Repeats movements only in appropriate ways. (not highly repetitive ways)

The Communicative Dimension

  1. Nonverbal Communicative Life: To what degree does child communicate without words?
    • Regularly initiates messages nonverbally.
    • Regularly responds to others' communications.
    • Communicates mainly with physical contacts.
    • Communicates with more than physical contacts.
    • Communicates with mainly gestures or signs.
    • Communicates with more than gestures.
    • Communicates mainly with unintelligible sounds.
    • Communicates with intelligible sounds.
    • Communicates in socially appropriate ways.
  2. Speech and Language Life: To what degree does child communicate with words?
    • Uses words regularly.
    • Uses new words regularly.
    • Uses many words together.
    • Talks only to get needs met.
    • Talks for other reasons than to get needs met.
    • Directs talk to others (not only to self)
    • Talks about self and others. (not only about self)
    • Talks in appropriate amounts. (does not talk excessively or in monologue)
    • Talks easily for social reasons.
    • Takes turns talking with others. (does not dominate conversation)
    • Speaks in ways other understand.
    • Imitates others' speech developmentally.
    • Initiates occasionally but not excessively.
    • Uses language appropriately.
  3. Conversation Life
    • Stays on topics in conversation.
    • Shares others' topics of conversation.
    • Stays in conversations for extended exchanges.
    • Has conversations about appropriate topics.
    • Enjoys conversations.
    • Stays on a topic appropriately.
    • Allows others to talk in conversations.
    • Considers the partner's perspective.
  4. Literacy Life
    • Enjoys/ pursues the written word.
    • Enjoys/ pursues pictures and signs.
    • Enjoys/ pursues drawings and physical literacy.
    • Attends to books appropriately for extended time.
    • Enjoys being read to.
    • Allows and enjoys reading with others.
    • Reads words.
    • Reads easily on his own.
    • Has conversations with others using books.
    • Reads print in environment.
    • Tells stories.
    • Interacts and pursues computers.
    • Practices and enjoys writing.

The Emotional and Civil Dimension

  1. Civil and Cooperative Life: To what degree does the child treat others with cooperation and civility?
    • Complies with certain forms of discipline.
    • Cooperates with others.
    • Asserts self appropriately.
    • Treats self with respect.
    • Respects others' feelings.
    • Behaves predictably and with forethought.
    • Regulates own behavior well.
    • Attends without obsessing.
    • Regulates his compulsions.
    • Treats people with respect.
    • Treats others with kindness.
    • Actively helps and supports others.
    • Plays constructively.
    • Successfully controls his behavior.
  2. Emotional and Empathetic Life: To what degree does the child express his emotions and empathize with people?
  3. Previous: How Communicating Partners Approach Differs from Others

    Next: Adult Strategies

Dr. James MacDonald 332 Mimring Columbus, Ohio 43202 Phone/Fax (614)447-0768 macdonaldj86@gmail.com